


darling, the world owes us a favor

by rayfelle



Series: that one mutant romance [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, M/M, Mutant!Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 09:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8839375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayfelle/pseuds/rayfelle
Summary: Harry doesn't want to be a part of this mess. Tom just really wants Harry.And everything gets harder for mutants.





	

For Harry it was as easy as breathing to slip from one skin to another. He blended with the crowds with an ease, disappeared between the faces of tired and powerless people. For years the mutant played this sick game of _go seek_ from the whole world.

( _be it Durlseys, who hated mutants with everything they had, be it the rest of the powerless, be it his own kind, be it the best friends of his dead parents_ )

The asphalt beneath Harry’s feet vibrated, cracked. He stopped, turned his head towards the smoke clouds and lightshow hidden beneath the dust and rubble. People screamed around him, someone bumped and pushed him down on the ground in their haste to run away from the fights and the freaks.

Harry simply breathed and changed his skin to a frightened little girl. Alone and crying from distress, with her blond hair dangling in messed up strands around her dirtied face – Harry had always been a good actor. Playing pretend was the thing he excelled best at. Running came as close second.

…

“You look extra annoyed this evening, darling. Is there a way I might be able to fix that?” The _Knights of Walpurgis_ leader sat down next to Harry, keeping a polite distance between the two of them. As always, Tom Riddle looked effortlessly handsome. “Perhaps I might be able to _persuade_ someone to take a swim in Thames.” Tom’s smile was kind and warm, even if the proposal was everything but.

Harry ( _for once in his own skin_ ) rolled his eyes slowly. “No thanks, Riddle. Last time I agreed to something you suggested, I detonated a bomb that was meant to open a hole under Dumbledore and bury him alive. Not fun.”

Even if Harry used _agreed_ they both knew it was because of Tom’s powers and there had been nothing consensual about it.

Tom slowly inclined his head and hummed. “Be it so then. However, there is still something on your mind.” The man drummed his fingers against his thigh.

“It’s nothing, I just ran into someone I despise.” Harry let out a long breath. He thought back on how aunt Petunia hadn’t even given him the time of the day ( _an old lady with a poof of white hair, bent in the middle and walking slowly_ ) but he was the one that was left with memory demons. “Fucking stupid.”

The silence stretched on. ( _Tom’s hand was warm where it stayed on Harry’s shoulder_ )

…

Harry walked along the hypnotized officer towards the police station entrance ( _there was no other way to call those that fell under Tom’s powers_ ). The uniform was stiff and rough against his skin, tight around the large breasts of this female mask. But his long, red hair cascaded down the back; lips were full and a light pink against the brown of his skin. _No, nothing was wrong here, officer, I was just sent to pick someone up._

“Why am I doing this again? I’m not one of you.” Harry whispered quietly, his lips pulled in a suggestive smile as the old secretary man kept his eyes on the shapeshifter’s cleavage.

Immediately Abraxas’ voice laughed in his head. “Because we need Bella. Boss says that you also need a distraction from something.”There was a pause and then he added, quieter and quite serious, “I already told her not to cause a scene, but there are catchers going there already. You need to be quick.”

The heavy metal doors of the holding cells creaked open and Harry moved away from the wandering hands sliding down his back. There were whistles from caged men as he passed, but nothing could move the beauty whose character he wore.

“Well, well, well… Where am I to be taken _now_?” Bella licked her lips, eyes wide as she rattled the heavy shackles put on her wrists. “The correction facility? Or was it the mutant slaughterhouse?” Her laughs were jaded and too loud, heavy on Harry’s ears.

“Don’t worry, you will see soon enough.” Harry wrapped his slender fingers around Bella’s arm and pulled her out of the cell, down the corridor. Once more he smiled sweet and inviting to the old men with dirty minds - to make their gateway faster, to get out of this place sooner.

Minutes later they sat in a stolen police car as it drove down the busy streets, Abraxas’ voice in their heads telling about the safest way back.

…

Harry could see sparks dancing on the tips of Sirius’ fingers. Control was overrated, it seemed. Dumbledore stood as a king in the midst of his followers – aged but still soothing out power as if it was so simple. The light was blinding, Remus’ hold on his upper arm would surely leave marks for days to come. Super strength, reflexes, senses working on overdrive. No wonder the man was nicknamed Werewolf.

“Harry… _Harry_!” Desperation and happiness clung to every word that fell from Sirius’ lips. “You’re alive, oh my god, you’re alive!” Electricity danced along the cracked walls of the buildings around them, landed on the unconscious forms of the _Foundation_ members.

Minerva removed her hand from Harry’s cheek. Her eyes were wide in disbelief, aged fingers trembled in shock. “Oh, dear boy. Thank _heavens_ that horrible woman was lying about you being missing.” Shadows of people long dead played in her gaze.

If it hadn’t been for Remus’ sense of smell and quick reflexes, if only Minerva with her cancellation had not come with them on this mission, Harry would not have been found _or_ caught. Bitterness still stung in his bones and abandonment shone bright as the start of the hell that followed replayed before his eyes again.

Remus did not let go, but loosened his hold instead. “Come on, we need to get out of here first. We can talk later, after we’re back at the headquarters.” The man stood from his crouch, pulling Harry with him.

“I’m not going _anywhere_ with you.” Harry yanked his arm free and stumble back a few steps. He could feel his skin rippling, everything changing chaotically, as if it were the first day his powers manifested. “Not after you all left me to _rot_ with those _freaks_.” Words turned into growls, breath hitched somewhere in Harry’s throat.

Remus was first to react. “Harry, you don’t know what you are talking about.” There was steel in the man’s voice and his claws grew sharper, deadlier. “Stop this, you’re not a child anymore and there were important reasons for everything. Now, come on. We need to _go_.”

Harry turned his eyes towards his uncle and it wasn’t Harry standing before the _Phoenix Order_ anymore. It was Lily Potter, as beautiful as the last time they had seen her alive. “You let me down.” Harry spoke with his mother’s mouth, curled her fingers in fists. “And now it’s too late.”

Under his feet the ground exploded and Bella laughed in glee.

…

“They hurt you.” Tom narrowed his eyes on the hand-shaped bruises on Harry’s arm. “ _And_ they tried to _take_ you.” The man spat the last part with such anger that Barty flinched and almost dropped the bandages.

Harry ( _still dressed in the ghost of his mother_ ) swallowed and said nothing. His heartbeat was too loud, the shock and fear of _Phoenix Order_ members still burned before him. His own emotions were a turmoil of everything and nothing.

Fingers slid though the long strands of fire red and then traveled down his cheek. “Don’t cry darling. They are not worth your tears.” Tom kneeled before the shapeshifter, one hand curled around Harry’s trembling fingers. “ _I will destroy them all_.”

“Fucking hell, _Tom_. Don’t do that.” Harry laughed through his tears and swiped angrily at the wet tracks with the sleeve of his jacket. Slowly his mother bled away and, with a shiver, he now sat before Tom as himself. “I freaked out. First they nullify my powers and then they decide to just _take me away_. Like I’m some dumb kid who doesn’t know _shit_.”

The corners of Tom’s lips twitched down, an angry snarl rumbling along the edges. “They didn’t even give you a _choice_. No matter, I will not let you join that circus of a group. All they do is prance around preaching about _easy_ _peace_ and _love_. _Pathetic_.” Slowly the man raised and used both hands to tilt Harry’s head upwards.

They stood in silence then, quiet as decisions were made and dialogs discussed between looks alone. Harry will never agree to be a part of any kind of group; Tom will never give up on his ideals and plans.

“My knights will make an appearance, I think.” Tom finally declared, his thumbs rested on Harry’s bottom lip. “Will you please accompany me, my dear? Just to listen in from afar, nothing else. You _are_ magnificent at picking out half-truths and avoidances.”

…

Grindelwald slowly poisoned the government with his viruses and diseases. Dumbledore spoke on front of hundreds of people about joining together and fighting side by side against this madness.

 _Knights of Walpurgis_ refused to join before concrete rules were made and boarders constructed.

( _Tom proclaimed Harry as one of his followers, refused to let the boy be chained to the obligation of fighting a war that Harry did not want to be a part of. Harry reminded him of when they met for the first time and called Tom a hypocrite_ )

“---only to defeat that madman.” Tom looked almost relaxed in the old wingback he was sitting in. Careless in the way his legs folded one over the other, his elbows rested on the armrests and head tilted _just so_. The man’s eyes, though. They were colder than ice, darker than the deadliest storms. “I care nothing of your _ideals_.”

Dumbledore’s beard twitched as the muscles in the old man’s jaw worked. The leader of the _Phoenix Order_ shifted his glace from one _knight_ to the other, finally settling on the man Remus had called Harry ( _dark, cold, with eyes whiter than snow and lips thin as paper_ ). “That is all I can ask of you, Tom.”

Harry watched as Tom’s fingers twitched, where they were entwined together and held in the man’s lap. Long and elegant, they held the power of wills in their tips. “ _Do not_ address me so casually, Dumbledore. Only few can do so.”

Not for the first time Harry wondered what the history was between these two. But there were stories better left unsaid and kept away – his own were proof enough.

…

They created a room of war, where plans hatched from tentative ideas and questions thrown on the table. Sometimes Harry came along, to see how far they had gotten in their decisions and which places to avoid in the future. Times were dangerous now. Mutants were killed with a shot of a policeman’s gun or from another power sown in blood of a fellow mutant.

Tom spoke of laying in wait and surprise attacks when Harry stiffened from Remus’ and Sirius’ body heats trapping him in on both sides. It was but a sharp intake of breath and still Tom’s eyes flashed to where Harry stood. The man’s teeth glinted in the lamp-light as he spoke. “You need to say only one word, darling.”

Despite everything Harry laughed and relaxed. His face and body morphed into a mirror image of Tom, if the other were born a female. Startled surprise froze onto everyone’s faces ( _Tom’s the most amusing, a light pink dusting the sharpness of those high cheekbones_ ).

As the room returned to their previous discussions Remus cleared his throat quietly. “We, _ah_ , wanted to speak with you. About everything, I suppose.” The man’s nose twitched.

“Here and now? Or someplace else?” Harry wondered why his voice still sounded like Tom’s. The same pitch and deep husk of it lingered in the feminine frames. Interesting. “But not too far from the _Knights_.” While powerless he was not, safety still remained in numbers.

Sirius tapped his heel against the cement once, twice. Clicked his tongue in irritation. “Before  the next meeting, there’s a small room we can use. Some from your and our group are always here doing intelligence beforehand.”

Absentmindedly Harry unbuttoned the top buttons of the shirt stretched out along the curve and swell of his breasts, soothed his hands down the slope of hips that belonged to this new and _lady-like_ body of his. “That works. I’ll find out the meeting times from Tom later.”

With a quick dip of his head and a wave Harry left the room and compound. He had had enough of _everything_ for one day and this new skin demanded attention and flatter, movement to settle the energy thrumming deep within.

…

Barty and Abraxas sat on the other side of the wall, the chaperones Tom had chosen to look after Harry. Minerva perched on the hard wooden stools with them, a tired and rumpled Arthur Weasley sleeping on the table next to her.

Still comfortable in the skin of this interesting female Tom Harry sat before the two men his parents trusted in the most. The brown strands of hair fell straight atop of his shoulders, down his back in small waves. Like ocean, water reaching far into horizon.

Many things had already been said, many more left to ask about still. Harry will never know the whole picture, that was certain.

“Why did you never come?”

Sirius was a ball of moving energy trapped within a body. The chair creaked as he fidgeted in it. “It was dangerous, at the time. We had to catch the _rat_ and Dumbledore thought it would be safest for you there.”

“We didn’t know a thing about taking care of you. Petunia had her own son…” Remus sat uncomfortable before Harry, trying to decipher the puzzle that was the boy with thousands of masks. “And then there was the rebuilding of the Sanctuary… I, _we_ went to check on you but you weren’t there anymore.”

Harry pursed his lips and felt his hair shorten, his body shrink. The visage of his eight year old self sat on the chair now. Too thin, with ribs visible under the bruises speckled along the too pale skin. “Of course I wasn’t there. You think I would stay with those freaks while they continued to beat and starve me? Do you think I’m stupid?” He morphed back into the age he was really, but mask belong to a young girl with pink hair and a heart-shaped face.

Harry the stretched out the stiffness of his fingers. His bones creaked from the constant enlarging and shrinking.

Horror still hung heavy above the two men. Regret followed soon as sour as the candy Harry loved so. _Huh_ , so there really was care somewhere deep down. Misplaced and forgotten, awkward in the hands of men who had been, then, nothing more than children just out of school.

“Well, I don’t care much anymore. We _can_ start over. However,” Harry shook his head and massaged the bridge of his nose. Abraxas’ voice buzzed inside of his skull. “I will do whatever the bloody hell I want. Go where I want, join whoever I want. I don’t need a _parent_ and _guardian_. Too late for _that_.”

“That is more than enough.” The lights flickered together with Sirius’ laugher. Static drummed along the tables and the walls – cheerful beyond words. “I don’t think we deserve much more. Being crap guardians and all.”

It was easier than Harry would have thought it to be. But a weight had lifted from his chest and breathing was easy now. He listened to the meeting between the _Order_ and _Knights_ for an hour, before shifting into a small and unassuming little girl. Skipping out on war talk had never been easier.

…

The world burned on the day of the first snow.

Light scattered through the clouds and they gray. People fell on their knees from diseases that had no name. Screams echoed the air and it _trembled_ every time someone took a deep breath to fill their lungs for more.

Harry stood atop an apartment building, his skin tearing in places from how fast one detail changed to another. Too many faces, too many builds and tones – he felt like breaking along the seams. The way his power went out of control from the worry and the fear. But fight Harry did not.

( _Tom had held his face last night, dark eyes intent and scalding deep within of Harry. They made no promises, but the power that sunk into Harry’s flesh from the tips of Tom’s fingers made him mouth the orders now embroidered into his muscles_ )

 _Run if we lose_ , Tom had repeated this one will for so long that night. _Run and never look back_.

Inside Harry felt empty. Just a bit, but enough. He wished for this madness to end with this one and final battle. Fairytales were never real, not when mutant children were executed for the sins of old men.

…

They burned Grindelwald’s body a week after the battles were all done. Many of the _Order_ and _Knights_ sat in cold prison cells, awaiting their turn to be judged _fairly_. Dumbledore stood before the high court and argued for their release, strengthened his reasons with their help in battle and support of the powerless humans.

Harry ignored the court orders and police lines. He smiled the smile of Frank Longbottom and got past the prison doors with a _good luck, Frank! Be careful around that pretty guy there, he likes to sneer a lot_.

“ _Oh_ , you’re a new one. Here to _evaluate_ how sane I am then?” Tom did not bother to look up from the book held loosely in his hands. Abraxas blinked owlishly from the next cell, his brow crunched up in suspicion. “Hurry along. I don’t _deal_ with the likes of you.”

“ _Pity_. And here I thought you’d want to get out of this dump.” Harry allowed his real voice to slip between his lips. With glee he then watched Tom’s head snapping up and eyes widening just _so_. “Hi, you look like shit.”

Tom rolled his eyes and sighed. A small smile still settled upon his lips and then the man rose on his feet. “Darling, had I _known_ it was you, I would have _never_ been so crass.“ Once he stood by the bars, the man settled for a nasty sort of sneer. ”This _lovely_ place does no good to my skin and sleep, you see. Dreadful, really.”

“Flirt later! Hot bath and good food _now_. Move, Potter!” Abraxas snapped his fingers in their direction. “ _Now_! My hair has not been this _oily_ in _ever_!”

While Harry laughed and wandered away to find the control room Tom just stared at his friend utterly unimpressed. “Abraxas, you are a _whiny child_. Your hair can live for a few hours more.”

“So can your _dick_ , but I don’t see you holding out on _that_.” The _Knights of Walpurgis_ right hand threw back to his boss and best friend, chest rising in barely contained laugher. “Besides, hygiene is important and I am sick of having dried blood everywhere. It’s _disgusting_.”

Tom looked quite irritated and it only served to make Abraxas laugh more. “I hope you trip and fall in a sewer.”

…

The sky was vast above him. A grey melancholy hung in the air and along frozen puddles. There were still enough people left that believed in the base of _Foundation_. Even more that chose to follow the _Phoenix Order_.

Harry shuddered in the embrace of his winter coat ( _too bare, not warm enough_ ) and watched his breath fan before his eyes as white mist. The snow had yet to fall again, but soon the sky will have to finally break. The air was cold.

“By the river.” Harry mumbled into his wool scarf when Abraxas’ quiet question whispered in his ears. Too tired to go anywhere, he wore the face of an unassuming man and sat staring into the seemingly endless movement of the city around him. “Well though luck, he can finally try and _find_ me for once.”

The city sounds continued to buzz around Harry as he sat there. It took a while, but finally Tom slid next to him on the bench. The man looked annoyed and tired; his cheeks were colored a bright pink from the cold and walking around so much. He clicked his tongue and straightened out his gloves.

“To be born a mutant--”

“Means to be born great. Hello Tom.” Harry finished the sentence with ease. It was neither the first, nor ( _probably_ ) the last time he will have to do so. “Fancy seeing you here.” The wind ruffled his hair, made his eyes close against the biting edge.

Tom clicked his tongue once more. “I wish these chases of ours would end up somewhere warm and comfortable, for once. _And_ , I wish you were your real, _beautiful_ self, darling.” The man blinked slowly and smiled charmingly at Harry.

Harry snorted, not at all beautiful or charming. But he still changed his appearance to his natural looks. “You’re so stupid. I can’t believe I am still dealing with you.” But there was fondness in every word that he spoke, a quiet kind of attraction.

“ _Please_ , I am the most perfect and amazing man you have ever met. You deserve nothing less, after all.” Tom reached out and pulled Harry’s hand towards himself. With a smug satisfaction he then kissed the younger’s knuckles and laughed at the blush spreading over the bridge of Harry’s nose. “ _Ah_ , true beauty. My own personal Aphrodite.”

Harry choked on nothing. “ _Aph_ \--! Bloody hell, you are so--!” Without looking he reached down towards the ground and grabbed a handful of snow. The mutant then pushed the cold and white clump straight into Tom’s face. “ _Stupid_!”

For a moment Tom spluttered around the snow in his mouth. “But you did not deny being mine, as I noticed.” A Cheshire grin decorated the man’s beautiful face as he quickly rose from the bench and ran from a red-faced and yelling Harry.

**Author's Note:**

> Small information about powers and such:
> 
> Harry (18) - shapeshifting  
> T-Ridds (23) - control of human will via touch  
> Dumbles - light  
> Gellert - creation and control of viruses/diseases  
> Sirius - electricity  
> Remus - Sabertooth p much  
> Abraxas - telepathy n shit  
> Bella - explosions  
> McGonagall - power cancellation  
> Barty - Illusions  
> Arthur Weasley - invisibility


End file.
